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Thursday, May 3, 2012

Bill Passes That Changes PRVWSD Board

Senate Bill 2703 passed both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature Monday, it will place more leaseholders on the board of directors of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. Senator Josh Harkins submitted the bill.

Current law sets the board at 14 members. The Board of Supervisors from each county in the District (Hinds, Leake, Scott, Rankin and Madison) appoint one member directly to the board. In addition, each county BOS submits a list of names to the governor who picks one from each county's list to serve on the board. This process accounts for 10 of the 14 members.

The remaining four members are appointed by state agencies, one each from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Forestry Commission and the Mississippi State Department of Health.

SB2703 will require the 4 appointees from state agencies to reside on and be a leaseholder of property within the District. At present the appointee from Rankin County is the only board member required to be a leaseholder.

The new rule will seat a minimum of 5 leaseholders on the board and will take effect January 1, 2013.

This is the first change to the makeup of the board since the legislature established the District in 1958. Sen. Josh Harkins, Rep. Mark Baker and Rep. Kevin McGee all have constituents in the district and supported the bill.

The Rez News is a private, hyperlocal blog, publishing news about Missisippi towns around the Ross Barnett Reservoir including Flowood, Ridgeland, Jackson, Madison and news from Hinds, Rankin, and Madison Counties in central Mississippi. Please notify us of upcoming events. We will be happy to publish information about them. Our email address can be found in the About Us section.